


Gnasher

by Captain_Kiri_Storm



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Darth Maul is a Little Shit, Darth Sidious is a Nightmare, Dogs, Feral Behavior, Feral Children, For a Friend, Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'm taking HUGE liberties with canon here, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Maul is good with dogs, Might or Not make it longer, Mustafar, Sith Shenanigans, Sith hounds - Freeform, Tuk'ata - Freeform, Valentine's Day, Young Darth Maul, i don't know why
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-18 12:55:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13682124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captain_Kiri_Storm/pseuds/Captain_Kiri_Storm
Summary: Darth Maul finds an abandoned tuk'ata pup on Mustafar and decides to tame it instead of killing it. After all, a Sith hound might come in handy one of these days!And he just might find something more.





	Gnasher

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SLWalker](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SLWalker/gifts).



> If you don't know what a tuk'ata is, look no further
> 
> http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Tuk%27ata
> 
> Also please note that this was intended to stay on my desktop as a little snippet, but here it is

Going outside on Mustafar wasn't a good idea. The Master had told him what happened after his first apprentice, a Tyrian Twi'lek girl called Esir'keseh, had gone outside. He said that the tuk'atas that prowled around the place had ripped her to shreds. Maul wasn't sure what he believed. He knew from his daily readings that tuk'atas tended to be shy beasts and not bother anyone as long as their dens weren't invaded. Anyone that The Master took as an apprentice would surly be smart enough to not barge into a tuk'ata den. He often pressed his body against the plexisteel and tried to watch the creatures as they ran across the coal flats. Mustafar wasn't a toxic world, but it was a harsh desert and any life that would survive had to fight and claw for it.

Maul could survive in the desert. The Master had left him outside for weeks. He had learned the hard way which plants could be eaten an how to kill the animals with a sharpened stick. The desert rats tasted so good. Maul had never eaten meat with the blood still in it before that. The killing of the animals wasn't something that he gloried in, much to The Master's annoyance, but he did to it survive. Maul could find the hidden water springs and tell which were sulfur or toxic and which were made of cool, pure water. The desert had taken Maul as it's child and he had dreaded coming back to the castle. The Master lived in the Castle. The Master would have seen that Maul enjoyed being in the desert far more than he enjoyed serving Him.

That was a _bad thing_. The Master was very angry when he found out and that was why Maul was currently out in the desert again.

He crouched in the low canyon walls and scratched in the dirt with a pointed stick. Night was falling soon. It would be the Dark After, when the temperatures dropped far below freezing and all life that could find the lava flows _would_. Maul knew where a lava flow was and he soon planned to curl up near it, but he wanted to stay out as long as he could. He didn't like the cold ever since The Master had flung him into a frozen lake. Maybe this was The Master's way of making him get stronger. Already, Maul could see his breath in the cold night air. His flickering, weak fire was not near enough to keep him warm through the cold night. The young Zabrak paced some. His thin robes would do next to nothing in the chill air.

Something rustled in a field of succulents. Maul swung his head over there. He gripped his crude spear, trying to see what was there. He could use the Force, but Maul figured that The Master wouldn't be happy if he did touch it. He was supposed to survive out here using only his wits. He narrowed his eyes some, relying upon his reflective eyes to see in the darkness. The tall pitcher-reeds rustled again and an alarmed squeaking filled the air. It didn't _sound_ dangerous. If anything, the pitcher-reeds had caught him dinner. Stealing from carnivorous plants was easy enough. Maul slipped closer and poked the fleshy reeds aside with his staff. Something gave a weak puppy growl and snapped at the wood. Maul growled right back.

Whatever it was gave a terrified scream again and then a cry of pain. Maul yelped as one of the reeds nipped at his foot. He swatted it aside with his staff and slipped deeper into the copse. It was getting colder now. His breath was freezing in the air. Whatever it was whimpered and Maul hoped that he wasn't getting too close to a jump cat or something like that. Yet... whatever it was, it sounded small. Like a baby. He knelt down and looked, his cat like eyes allowing him to see in the dark. The creature whimpered again and Maul managed to see a long, prehensile tail snake out to grab at his staff. Maul yelped and jumped back. What _was_ that thing?! The creature slipped back inside the den. After a few minutes, a horned head poked out of the hole.

Glowing red and yellow eyes met Maul's. The creature eased it's way out of the den and Maul breathed a sigh of relief. It was just a pup. Just a tuk'ata pup. Why was he so scared of the damned thing? A full grown tuk'ata had both poisoned stingers and claws strong enough to shred Mandalorian armor. But this creature? This was just a pup. Just a skinny, tiny, harmless pup. Maul crouched down some and tried to touch the pup. It gave a half growl and darted back, watching him with scared eyes. It took Maul a few minutes to realize that the temperature was starting to drop rapidly. His Master would have told him to just leave the pup to freeze. It was, after all, weak enough to where it lost it's entire pack.

Instead of leaving, Maul tossed a scrap of bloody meat in front of it. That was supposed to be his dinner, but he wanted to bring the pup with him. He missed the cat his Master had killed a few weeks before. Maybe keeping a Sith Hound would be better than keeping another feral cat. The pup pounced on the scrap of meat and tore it apart with it's fangs. Maul tossed it another piece. This time, when the creature ate it, it came up to him and whined some. Maul grabbed it with the Force and scruffed the small creature. It let out an outraged yowl, but he ignored that and started carrying it back to the cave he had taken over. There were parts of it where he could sleep at night. Already, he had dragged in a few branches and skinned the hides of battle beasts. Mustafar had been a dumping ground for all sorts of Sith beasts and the local wildlife showed it.

The pup whimpered some when he sat it down. It was at least warmer in the cavern and Maul passed it a few more pieces of meat. The heat from the magma would mask his signature. Maybe The Master would be pleased with him for choosing such a clever hiding place. He left the pup to gnaw on a bone while he checked his stores. Huh. That was odd. Something was wrong here. He was missing some of his food! Just enough for him to notice, but he was still missing some of his dried meat and a few of the root vegetables he had put out to bake. Maul growled low and started pacing. Someone had been here, but they were too smart to leave any footprints or take a lot of his food.

The pup finished and started whimpering. Maul wasn't sure if he was surprised that the pup had eaten the bone as well as the meat. He figured that the pup needed a name, too. Maul sat beside the pup and chewed on a scrap of dried meat. It needed salt. He glanced back at the pup as it absolutely shredded a large chunk of bone. He thought that it was the shoulder bone of a large reptile. He wasn't sure what kind, though. The pup growled a little, it's massive teeth tearing chunks out of the bone. Maul rubbed it's ears and horns some, trying to think of what he was going to call it. The Master would have to let him keep a Sith Hound. He knew from the holocrons that only special warriors could bond with these strange beasts.

"I'm gonna call you Gnasher," Maul decided. He sat down and rubbed the tuk'ata's ears. The pup sighed and rested it's head on Maul's lap. Maul didn't quite trust the pup not to eat him in his sleep and a horrid thought hit the young boy. What if The Master had sent the pup as a way to test Maul? It had happened before. He looked at the pup quickly and scanned it with the Force. Gnasher felt real. Maul couldn't feel the doubled presence that came with a clone and he felt real. Not like the weird presence an advanced droid had. The pup huffed out a small sigh. It acted just like the real tuk'ata pups Maul had seen playing out in the fields. Gnasher looked and acted normal.

Something moved in the cave. Gnasher pricked it's ears and padded over to the noise, growling softly. Maul followed the tuk'ata. He carried a bone dagger and a second spear, this one with an obsidian arrowhead. The tuk'ata walked stiff-legged and nosed aside a large strand of moss. Maul got a sick feeling in his stomach. It would be just like The Master to hide an assassin droid in the cave he was sleeping in. He cursed himself for thinking like an animal. He wasn't allowed to make the "animal sounds", either. He wanted to growl in frustration, but he kept it in and he eased the moss aside. There was a feral snarl and _something_ slammed into Maul. The little Zabrak screamed as he was sent sprawling. He scrambled up as best he could, calling to the Force and slamming his attacker against the wall.

He had no idea who it was. Gnasher started barking and growling, lunging at whatever it was before being flung across the cavern. Maul snarled his rage. He lunged for whatever it was. It felt like a feral animal in the Force, attacking without reason and clawing at everything that moved. Maul lunged at it. The thing slammed him back. Maul managed to grab a fleshy thingy and he raked it with his baby claws. Brilliant red blood covered his hand. The thingy let out a scream. It flared around and lunged at him, slapping him across the face and making his ears ring. Maul grabbed at the bone dagger, slashed the moss aside, and pinned his attacker with the Force. Whatever it was struggled, but it was in vain. Maul shook his head, trying to stop from seeing red.

A pair of golden eyes rimmed with red stared back at him. A bleeding t'chin drug across the ashy floor. Purple skin, smeared with soot, was firmly under his grasp. A Twi'lek. On Mustafar. Hiding in a cave. Maul shook his head quickly. Had The Master lied? The Master had said that Esir'keseh had been killed. And unless he was going mad, she was right here. Esir'keseh was under him and she was looking like she wanted to kill him. Maul was used to things that wanted to kill him. The Master had him fighting against men when he was only eight years old. He growled at her some, trying to act like a fearsome Sith of old. Esir'keseh growled right back at him. It was like she wasn't scared of him at all.

She pushed him off. "He found himself another one, then." Her voice sounded raspy, like she wasn't used to using it. The Tyrian girl had draped herself in scraps of rags and animal hides that she must have tanned. Maul growled, much like a feral Zabrak kitten. He did not want her. He wanted nothing to do with her. He could kill her and go on about his life with no trouble at all. Her golden eyes darted over to the growling tuk'ata pup. "He lets you have pets? I'm jealous."

"Gnasher is _mine_." Maul crouched like he was going to attack. He didn't trust her. Esir'keseh might be an illusion brought up by The Master in order to test him. He grabbed for the bone dagger, but she stopped it.

"I'm very real," Esir'keseh laughed. Her laugh was dry, like grating paper. Instead, she sat down beside him and reached for some of his meat. "Tired, too. I don't know how long I've been out here. You're the first sentient I've seen out here, ya know. Beyond the Sith Hounds." She glanced over at Gnasher and flicked the pup a piece of meat. Gnasher pounced on it and ate. "It's a runt, Zabrak. The dam probably left it to die and you should, too. You know The Master won't let you keep a pet." Her gaze turned misty and Maul remembered his cat. The Master had killed My Apprentice and made Maul eat her body. And when he cried about the death of his friend, he had been beaten even more. He didn't want this to happen to Gnasher.

"He's not gonna kill Gnasher." Maul crossed his arms. "I don't want to talk to you. Don't talk badly about The Master. That's not nice and he'll punish you." He spat at her, wasting precious water. "And you deserve it?"

Esir'kesek rolled her eyes. "And you think I care? Did he tell you that the tuk'ata ripped me apart? You're not the only apprentice he's had that the Sith Hounds like." She stood up and reached for his hand. "Bring the dog. We can get one of his ships and be halfway across the galaxy in five days. Are you in or out? I just need someone who knows the codes to his garage."

Maul nodded slowly. "I don't want to get in trouble."

"Screw getting in trouble!" Esir'keseh yelled. "Don't you wanna get off this planet?! Don't you wanna give The Master a big old bird and then kill him?!" She paced a little bit, her lekku vibrating in anger. Maul watched her with wide eyes. Why was she talking about The Master like this? Didn't she know that The Master was supposed to be feared and obeyed? He could Force around her, though, and it felt like she was real. Esir'keseh turned around. "He sends his apprentices out here to die, you know. We're the bad ones. The ones that don't make the cut. And if you don't run away with me, The Master is gonna kill Gnasher and you're gonna be staked out for tuk'ata to eat. Now do you understand?"

He nodded some, a little afraid of the older girl. "Okay," Maul meekly said. He ate some of his own food. "We'll have to go out in the Dark After, though."

Esir'keseh smiled a vicious gundark smile. "Well, then we'll just wrap up warm."

**Author's Note:**

> To be continued??


End file.
